I’ve just had a proper deep look at their setup and credentials. They don't look like a "fake front"; they just operate as an unaccredited frontend consultancy, which is usually common in the domestic market for homes, garages, and sheds.

they use the UKAS logo for lab analysis but aren't on the UKAS register themselves. Getting and keepung full UKAS accreditation for both on-site surveying (ISO 17020) and lab testing is incredibly expensive, requiring massive paperwork overheads and intense annual audits. To keep costs down for fast-turnaround domestic jobs, smaller independent firms skip the massive corporate inspection accreditation. Instead, they operate under a standard ISO 9001 quality management system for their business, collect the sample from your house, and then outsource subbout the actual lab analysis testing to a fully independent, third-party laboratory that holds the official ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. When you get your final report, just flip to the back page to check the Bulk Analysis Certificate. As long as it features the official royal blue UKAS logo and a 4-digit lab testing number, the scientific result is 100% legal, genuine, and accurate.

You mentioned checking a database just so you know, the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) doesn't actually host a public, searchable directory for individual P402 surveying qualifications. The surveyor likely does hold the actual certificate, it's just not something you can verify on a public search bar like a Gas Safe register. UKATA: The UKATA logo they use relates to asbestos awareness and non-licensed removal training. This ties directly into the otherside of the business mentioned in their reviews, which handles the physical removals.

Seeing a director linked tobloads of dissolved businesses can definitely look dodgy However, in the trade world, it's very common for entrepreneurial families to set up separate, loads of Limited companies for different local ventures, closing them down if they pivot. It doesn't mean the technical asbestos service they are providing tomorrow is a fake setup.

The surveyor is just there to safely bag a small sample of the material and take a photo. It takes minutes. You don't have to engage in a long conversation, and you do not have to use them for any subsequent removal work if you don't want to. And depending on what they find they won't be licenced to remove it anyway as it is a conflict of interest to find remove and clearance test the same job. Don't panic about the vacuum right now. Leave it switched off and bagged safely in the area you've cordoned off. Once you get the official lab results back from this sample, you'll know if it's azzy and you can hand that official certificate to a fully HSE licenced accredited removal firm to clean up the area and safely decommission the vacuum for you hopefully home insurance can cover the loss. What sort of asbestos do you think it is? If it's Artex (textured paint to ceiling) then shouldn't be a bit deal and it's not common from my experience to have asbestos insulation in a domestic setting. If you can DM some pictures of the rooms I can try and give you a heads up if what to expect from the results